## Facts

- Charles O. Myers owned Chuck’s Corner Bar in Nenana, Alaska, and died in 1969.
- The court appointed Howard E. Holbert as administrator of Myers’s estate and authorized him by court order to operate the bar as an estate asset.
- In June 1970, John C. Vance was injured in an altercation at the bar.
- The complaint alleged Vance was already intoxicated but was nonetheless served additional alcohol by Holbert’s employee, rendering him unable to care for his own safety.
- The complaint further alleged that after Vance was beaten, the employee dragged him outside to the street and failed to protect him while he was helpless.
- Holbert sought final settlement and discharge of the estate; final distribution occurred in August 1970, and Holbert was formally discharged in September 1970.
- The Vances filed a negligence action against multiple defendants, including Holbert in his representative capacity as administrator, shortly before the discharge order entered.
- After the discharge, the Vances moved to set aside the discharge decree and reinstate the administrator so the tort action could proceed against the estate; the superior court denied the motion.

## Issues

1. Whether an estate may be reached (via suit against the administrator in a representative capacity) for torts committed during administration when the tort arises from court-authorized operation of an estate business.
2. Whether the superior court erred by refusing to vacate the administrator’s discharge while a tort claim arising from the administration was pending.

## Decision

- The Alaska Supreme Court reversed and remanded.
- It held that a personal representative may be sued in a representative capacity for torts committed in the course of administration, permitting satisfaction from estate assets when the tort is a common incident of authorized business activity.
- It held the superior court should have set aside the discharge decree and reinstated the administrator to allow the pending tort action to proceed against the estate.

## Legal Principles

- When a personal representative, acting within court-granted authority, operates a decedent’s business, torts arising from that operation may be treated as liabilities of the estate rather than solely personal liabilities of the fiduciary.
- A fiduciary may be sued in a representative capacity for administration-related torts, allowing recovery from estate assets where appropriate.
- Estate administration should not be terminated through discharge when unresolved tort claims arising from the administration are pending; the court may vacate discharge and reinstate the representative to defend the claim and permit recovery from estate property subject to administration.

## Conclusion

The court recognized estate responsibility for torts arising from court-authorized business operations during administration and required vacating the administrator’s discharge so a pending negligence claim could proceed against the estate through the administrator’s representative capacity.


Vance v. Estate of Myers, 494 P.2d 816 (Alaska 1972)